Meet New Members of Affirmation’s Board of Directors

March 7, 2015

Affirmation is governed by an Executive Committee and Board of Directors, per our bylaws. The Executive Committee is made up of the Affirmation President (elected annually in November by all who have donated $25 or more to the organization during that calendar year), a Senior Vice President, and Vice President selected by the President and ratified by the Board of Directors.

The Affirmation Board of Directors provides the ongoing stability that a non-profit organization requires. The duties of the Board include:

Advising and assisting the Executive Committee in advancing Affirmation’s mission, values, and priorities

Assisting with fund-raising for the organization

The authority to ratify the disbursement of grant and loan monies

Overseeing any employees or paid staff of the organization

Confirming appointments made by the President for Vice Presidents and voting on Board member nominations

The power of recalling the President of Affirmation and causing a new election to be held, in accordance with the bylaws

The Board consists of fifteen members, plus the three Executive Committee members, for a total of 18. Board members serve terms ranging between 1 and 3 years with the option to renew their term if approved by the Board.

Neca Allgood, Jen Blair, Beth Ellsworth, Ron Raynes and Sara Jade Woodhouse were voted on as new Board members in February and have now joined the Board of Directors. We are grateful for their willingness to serve and volunteer their time and resources to the important work we do to support LGBT Mormons, Families & Friends worldwide. Read more about them on our Board of Directors page.

We are also indebted to the many hours of service and the significant resources that the following current Board members have given and continue to give to Affirmation: Fred Bowers, Judy Finch, John Gustav-Wrathall, Jamison Manwaring, Wendy Montgomery, Carol Lynn Pearson, Greg Prince, Ron Schow, Sam Wolfe and Yvette Zobel. Read more about them as well. We are also extremely grateful for the work of those Board members whose terms ended in 2014: Tom Christofferson, Jorge Valencia, and Mark Packer.

Affirmation also has a general Leadership Team that is made up of 50+ individuals worldwide who are either leading a particular project, managing a routine task, coordinating or facilitating workshops, sponsoring local chapters/groups, writing articles, translating materials into other languages, managing our websites, planning and executing events and service projects, and providing individual support by answering messages from 100s of LGBT Mormons worldwide.

Our Executive Committee, Board of Directors and Leadership Team’s growing diversity is very important to serving our diverse population. They include people of various gender identities, sexual orientations, relationship status (single, partnered, married to same-sex or opposite-sex), ages, race, and level of involvement with the LDS Church, including some with temple recommends, some who no longer affiliate with the Church yet value aspects of Mormonism, their Mormon heritage and/or identity, and many in between.

The Executive Committee, Board of Directors and general Leadership Team seek to provide a loving, inclusive community for all LGBTQIA/SSA people, and those who love them, regardless of how they identify in their sexual orientation, gender identity, or faith.

We work to advance the mission of Affirmation, as it was organized in 1979, which per the bylaws is to:

Encourage spirituality, prayer and the practice of all Christ-like and charitable behavior in the recognition of members as whole and complete children of God.

Provide support for people experiencing difficulty reconciling their sexual orientation and gender identity with traditional Mormon beliefs and other belief systems about homosexuality.

Provide a forum for communication and education for members and leaders of the Church and our peers concerning homosexuality.

Provide support and opportunity for social interaction, intellectual development, emotional stability and cultural exposure with those of similar heritage and background.